What do you think it would be like for someone who had their 20th birthday on the 20th of February this year? Imagine the date – 20 on 20/02/2020. This has absolutely nothing to do with what I’m going to talk about, but I suddenly thought of this while I was writing and I laughed for five minutes straight! So, apart from those special someones, how has 2020 treated all of us?
I was going to write about everything major that happened to me this year. But when I started writing, you know what I ended up thinking about? A new pickle Amma made. Squeezing in 10 minutes of TV between classes. A very funny conversation between Akka and Appa (a very entertaining story for another day!).
What I realized is that a standard, informative list of ‘my life during 2020’ would include the usual – my board exams getting delayed, the first year of college, skills I picked up, and so on. But what is it that really kept me – and, for that matter, all of us – going throughout this year? The little things, which aren’t exactly life-changing in themselves, but which still give you a good story to narrate at a party (or, in my case, write an article!).
So, here goes!
One of my definite ‘good’ memories of this year is watching the movie ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. It happened at the literal start of the lockdown! I got the notification that my board exams had been postponed indefinitely. I blinked for about two minutes. Then, I did what every rational student would do – I watched a movie! I had already lined up a few books and movies for after the boards. Well, when ‘after’ became a question in itself, I decided to indulge myself! While the film itself was enjoyable as good films normally are, I think it was the simple act of unwinding at such an odd time that made it memorable for me.
Sometime around May, I came up with a brilliant idea: my family and I should start taking daily walks – wait for it – inside our apartment. ‘Keep moving’ was becoming the new thing! So what if you can’t go outdoors?
All of us made quite a sight – walking from one end of the house to the other, with neither coordination nor rhythm. And we kept bumping into each other! (I’m pretty sure my siblings hatched a plot to keep bumping into me, but they won’t admit it.) And Appa kept singing a lot of hilarious made-up songs. That was actually quite useful – we burned more calories laughing than walking! I did consider live streaming all this – you have to admit, all of us could have branded ourselves as a comedy troupe of sorts – but my parents’ horror at the idea dashed my vlogging dreams. Oh well.
Another one of my cutest memories happened – surprise, surprise! – well before the lockdown started, when ‘coronavirus’ was just a fancy word. Technically, January is still a part of 2020! My father’s two biggest nemeses in life have been colds and hiccups. He has always been eternally convinced that eating ice-cream will make us catch a cold. So, every time we have a major exam coming up, we have a buffer period of at least a week during which we can’t eat ice-cream (on the off-chance that we fall sick). For 12th boards? That period was two months. My twin brother and I did the most natural thing ever – we tried to convince Pa to buy us ice-cream. We went all-out – “it’s our birthday!”; “we don’t get colds that easily!”; and so on. Well, as expected, it didn’t work (exams vs ice-cream? Really now?), but we did get quite an array of chocolates to make up for it!
I usually don’t like to dwell on things that make me sad, so I’m not able to recall any random incidents which made me feel low. But if anything did, I would say it was the weekends. I’m the kind of girl who prefers to kick back and relax at home. I loved weekends during school because I wouldn’t have to go anywhere. But since lockdown began, the charm of lazing around at home on the weekends isn’t there anymore. In fact, I dread them, because staying home is what we’ve all been doing for a while anyway.
Okay, enough self-pity. Moving on!
Doesn’t 2020 remind you of hot-and-sweet sauce? Or, if that’s not to your taste (it isn’t to mine), what about sweet-and-sour chips? You know: a little bittersweet, but that’s what makes the year different from all the others, right?
Harshitha Suresh
20/UECA/009
This was a heartwarming read. Loved it 💛